A Million, Billion Stars (Opera Gig)

The title comes from the feeling I got while listening to this piece as it began to take final shape: the endless, timeless firmament -- seemingly empty yet populated with countless universes and a trillion (or so) pinpricks of light. Hence, the image of the Milky Way. (If you like this sort of thing here is a link to a much larger version so you can really enjoy it.)

Opera Gig is an anagram. There are (essentially) 7 arpeggiated tracks here: electronic bass, two drum kits, two synths, marimbas, and trumpets.

Please leave a comment: I like to know what you think about my efforts.

Hey
Yes, Charlie: imagine, a richard13 tune with no loops ;-) Actually I've been going through a 12-step program. It's possible I'll backslide sometime and throw some loops into future tunes, but I'll try and keep them "organic" if possible. Thanks for the visit and the kind words.

Snap!
Hiya, Dave. I'm so happy you like this: I thought of you often during the final futzing, wondering if you'd enjoy it.
The arps are built into the Yammie keyboard (AFAIK, GB doesn't have an arpeggiator). I have no idea how to do them myself: do you? The synths are (I think) from GB. I do have a couple of AU plug-ins but I don't think I used them here. (I should start taking better notes ;-)

You should also get yourself a copy of "Computer Music" magazine. There's some great free stuff on the DVD, including the very wonderful Zebra CM, which is completely free, no strings. All yours, for the price of the mag!

Very nice
entrance of instruments...just like stars coming forward and then receding, or like planets slowly revolving around stars, so different places are warmed, in turn. Wonderful listen. Enjoyed. :)

Stars
hey Richard - WOWZA!! you've really gone all out here and your hard work has paid off. the arpeggiated tracks provide a cool energy and drive the song along its course. it does sound like there is very little variation in velocity of notes and if that's correct, you might try that in a next project. (i also could be hearing that wrong though.) congrats on the graduation out of loops - there's no stopping you now! always enjoy your work richard!

Stars
I finally got a WOWZA! Thank you Karen: I appreciate it.
Too little velocity variation, huh? It's quite possible since, as is no doubt obvious, my fingering technique (if that's right) is extremely elementary, to say the least. Which is why I had to arpeggiate every note I did play. I'll check the tracks for velocity info. Thanks for the tip.
As for the graduation out of loops...

I like the bass-ic tenor of your opera gig
Arpeggios are useful for more than anagrams. You use them skillfully here, I like the voices you use here, as well as handing off the melarpody to various voices. This makes you either "Rad Rich Miller" or "Rill Mach Rider". I would suggest adding a richer bass sound here, the mix seemed to be missing the low end of space. However the music was great fun.
ttfn,
Drakonis

bass-ic
at first I thought it was a play on your name. And I only just noticed the rest. "melarpody" is lovely. Yes, I handed it/them off everywhere. You are right, of course, about the bass: I'll fix it for the CD ;-)
Thanks too for the rename suggestions but you left out one with "mad" in it. Cheers.

wordplay upon wordplay
there are always references to multiple things in what I write... "I see" that you pick those up, like bass, baritone, tenor, opera :-) Wordplay is a nervous tick with me, I cannot help it. I only use this power for good, however. :-)

Nice rhythm
I like the use of synths on this. You say you've given up the guitar - I can only play a few chords myself, but I like using the guitar to lay down a dirty vibe behind the synths - gives the songs an organic flavour - I'm sure you could do that here. I like the drumming by the way - very tight. Nice song.

Richard
wow! look at you with no loops! This is a really great electronic piece - and I especially love your sound choices. The mixture of marimba with those synths and the trumpets in the back - really gives this a cool "POP". this has great energy and a catchy little tune. Very well done!

There is a
planetarium out there somewhere just yearning for this track. What a great idea that you have brought to musical life so well. This is so very pleasant to listen to (I esp. like the mallets) and it paints an expansive picture just like your words say. ... Well done.

I think
This is a fine piece, those of us that have to rely on our ears rather than formal training perhaps have a larger step to make when composing music, I can hear that you have crossed that bridge successfully, you have well developed instincts as to what sounds right...Bravo enjoyed the music...

A pretty big number
a million billion is. You have put together an interesting piece here. And it is impressive that you built this all on your own, without using any loops. I've not used sequencers before - sounds to me like they are a useful tool for creating music as well. I think it takes a certain talent to use synths. You did a great job with this piece - I found it to have a circular feel to it - kind of like it was taking me around the galaxy for a quick tour. Also, it occurs to me that most ambient music designed for space sounds very open and emtpty, to make you feel the huge vastness that is space. Your approach is just the opposite - to remind us that space is FULL of stuff everywhere, and could be considered to be a very busy place. I think your approach works well. I will look forward to hearing more from you.

Thank you for commenting on my music as well. Your words were thoughtful and much appreciated. As far as moving up in software, I think the logical (no pun intended) step up would be Logic, but I am less concerned about learning new software - for me it's more about coughing up the dough to buy it! At least for now!

What's past is prologue
23 September 2016
Howdy!
After an absence of two years at MacJams I'm back and making some noise.
I haven't been totally absent but my interest in music was practically nada. My wife Anne died last year after a... [see more]

Electropop (also called Technopop) is a subgenre of synth pop music which flourished during the early 1980s, although the first recordings were made in the late 1970s. Numerous bands have carried on the electropop tradition into the 1990s and 2000s.